North America, Greenland, Cape Farewell Region, Agdlerssakasit, East Face, First Ascent and Tragedy

Climbs And Expeditions

Climb Year:

Publication Year: 2001

Agdlerssakasit, East Face, First Ascent and Tragedy. At the beginning of August, British climbers Ben Bransby, Matt Dickinson, Gareth Parry, and Ian Parnell made the first ascent of the 1347-meter east face of Agdlerssakasit (1763m) in the Torssukatak (also spelled Torssuqatoq-Ed.) Sound in the Cape Farewell region of southern Greenland. The team camped on the island of Pamiagdluk and used a hired inflatable dinghy to approach the sea- cliff, which falls sheer into the fjord. After retreating following a days’ climbing and a night of storm, the team returned to make the ascent over four days, climbing the route free (5.12c) without any drilling for belays or protection. Tragically, Matthew Bransby, a member of the support team, died while abseiling from a neighboring peak that had been climbed to watch the team summiting. A full account of this climb appears earlier in this journal.

North America, Greenland, Cape Farewell Region, Agdlerssakasit, East Face, First Ascent and Tragedy

Agdlerssakasit, East Face, First Ascent and Tragedy. At the beginning of August, British climbers Ben Bransby, Matt Dickinson, Gareth Parry, and Ian Parnell made the first ascent of the 1347-meter east face of Agdlerssakasit (1763m) in the Torssukatak (also spelled Torssuqatoq-Ed.) Sound in the Cape Farewell region of southern Greenland. The team camped on the island of Pamiagdluk and used a hired inflatable dinghy to approach the sea- cliff, which falls sheer into the fjord. After retreating following a days’ climbing and a night of storm, the team returned to make the ascent over four days, climbing the route free (5.12c) without any drilling for belays or protection. Tragically, Matthew Bransby, a member of the support team, died while abseiling from a neighboring peak that had been climbed to watch the team summiting. A full account of this climb appears earlier in this journal.

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